Brock Purdy played a big part in getting the 49ers to Super Bowl 58, but the Chiefs evidently didn't view him as a big threat during the contest.
Case in point, Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed's comments after Kansas City's 25-22 overtime win in the big game.
Sneed was asked during a postgame news conference whether defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's blitz-heavy gameplan was designed to slow down San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey-powered running game.
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Sneed confirmed that was the case while also revealing the Chiefs' ultimate goal for the evening: to make Purdy beat them.
"Yes, we knew they were gonna try to run the ball," Sneed said. "We knew what they were gonna try to do. We just wanted Brock to throw the ball."
In fairness to Sneed, his comments didn't necessarily imply that the Chiefs believed Purdy was a weakness. They were just an acknowledgment that McCaffrey — who led the NFL in rushing yards during the regular season and is one of the last remaining three-down, workhorse backs in the league — was the bigger threat within San Francisco's stable of offensive weapons.
Moreover, Sneed's comments may have been his way of expressing confidence in Kansas City's secondary, which was one of the league's best in 2023.
Still, it's hard to hear his comments without dredging up the game manager vs. game changer debate that has surrounded Purdy since the latter stages of the 2023 NFL season.
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Brock Purdy stats vs. Chiefs
Purdy had a solid outing against the Chiefs, completing 23 of 38 passes for 255 yards and one touchdown with a passer rating of 89.3. Impressively, he didn't turn the ball over and was sacked just once by Kansas City's fearsome pass rush.
That said, Purdy cooled in the second half after a fast start to the game, leading the 49ers on three consecutive three-and-outs to open the third quarter. He went just two-of-seven passing for negative-1 yard on those possessions, and his inaccurate bout helped the Chiefs claw back into the game after they trailed 10-3 at halftime.
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Purdy picked things up again after the 49ers fell behind, but he couldn't quite do enough to help the 49ers win the Super Bowl. Notably, his ability to make plays against Kansas City's pressure-happy defense was inconsistent. He made some nice throws on the run throughout the evening, but he was also forced to toss some passes away at key times in the second half.
The most notable of those throwaways came on the 49ers' final offensive play of the game when the 49ers blew an assignment and Purdy had to uncork a desperation heave in the direction of Jauan Jennings.
the Chiefs figured out a way to show blitz and confuse the Niners badly enough that no one blocked Chris Jones on the biggest play of the game pic.twitter.com/CNHZnzdvHS
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) February 12, 2024
So, while Purdy had a fine performance in Super Bowl 58, it's hard to argue against Sneed's comments or Spagnuolo's game plan for the evening.
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The Chiefs selling out to try to render McCaffrey a non-factor on the ground largely worked. He racked up 80 yards, but he did so on 22 carries and his 3.6 yards per carry average was his third-lowest total of the season.
That forced Purdy to shoulder the load on offense. And while he fared admirably, distributing the ball to McCaffrey in the passing game and turning Jauan Jennings into a rock-solid weapon, he simply couldn't make enough plays to get the 49ers over the hump.
That said, it will be interesting to see if Sneed's comments — however benign — spark any sort of rivalry with Purdy. Perhaps it will depend on where Sneed, a pending free agent, lands ahead of the 2024 NFL season.
But rest assured, the next time Sneed faces Purdy, the 49ers quarterback will have bulletin board material to motivate him for that contest.
